Australian Matt Zions remained in control of the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize, maintaining his three shot lead midway through the final round.

The 32 year old had a bogey at the fifth but bounced back with a birdie at the eighth to remain level par for the day and six under for the tournament, and his nearest challenger was Italian Andrea Perrino, who had birdies at the fourth and ninth to move to three under.

Englishman Daniel Denison’s challenge looked to have faltered with back-to-back bogeys early on, but with a birdie at the eighth he remains in contention at two under, a score shared with Spaniard Jorge Campillo, who was one under for the day at the turn.

George Coetzee of South Africa was three shots off the lead at the start of the day, but slipped back to one under par with three bogeys and a solitary birdie in his opening eight holes.